Monday, January 19, 2004
Darryl Hunt, his attorney and two of his supporters discussed race, the judicial system, faith, community healing and protest against injustice yesterday at Wake Forest University.
Nearly 90 people attended a forum featuring Hunt; his attorney, Mark Rabil; and two of his supporters, Larry Little and the Rev. Carlton Eversley. The forum was held in dining hall of Wait Chapel.
Rabil, Little and Eversley called for a change in the criminal-justice system. Hunt spent 18 years in prison after he was convicted in the August 1984 rape and murder of Deborah Sykes.
Hunt was released Dec. 24 on an unsecured bond of $250,000 after investigators tested Willard Brown's DNA, which a court order said was an exact match with the DNA evidence in the Sykes killing.
Rabil and Hunt's supporters agreed that there are flaws in the justice system, and Hunt's case is one of many examples. Eversley encouraged white people who came to the forum to attend Hunt's release hearing on Feb. 6, to participate in today's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day activities, and to dispel stereotypes and prejudices.
Little said that "until people show an intolerance and impatience" with the justice system, such cases as Hunt's will continue to occur. Community leaders and such local officials as Council Member Vivian Burke; her son, Judge Todd Burke of Forsyth Superior Court; Rep. Larry Womble; Bill Leonard, the dean of Wake Forest University Divinity School; and former Council Member Virginia Newell attended the forum.
Wake Forest Baptist Church held the program in an attempt to heal the community after the Hunt case, which divided the city along racial lines.
As part of the forum, some people in the audience asked questions of Hunt and his longtime supporters.
After viewing a documentary on UNC-TV about the Hunt case, which highlighted the inconsistencies of the investigation, some audience members asked Hunt and his wife, April Hunt, about their faith and how they fell in love.
Hunt said he continues to pray for the family of Deborah Sykes, and that his religion, Islam, kept him sane while serving time for a crime he said he didn't commit.
"My prayers will always be for Mrs. Sykes' family, and I understand that truth is difficult to accept," Hunt said. "Over time, things will get better."
April Hunt sat by Darryl Hunt's side, holding his hand. Although Rabil said she has been reluctant to accept praise, he commended her and Hunt for their courage throughout the process.
April Hunt said that it was love at first sight when she saw Hunt.
"The more I talked to him, the more I felt that he didn't commit the crime," April Hunt said.
Much of the time was devoted to finding ways to prevent recurrences of injustices, especially against young black men.
Lynn Rhoades, a pastor at Wake Forest Baptist Church, said that there needs to be a change in the culture that instilled a fear of black men in white women.
"If you look at the history of the South, black men have been demonized, and we've turned a blind eye to the factual evidence that white men have done most of the raping of black women in our history," Rhoades said. "We do injustice to white women and white men and black women and black men when we don't tell the truth about our history."
Hunt's supporters pointed to him as an example of how the community can deal with the racial divisiveness that the city has endured.
"We are in wonderment of this young man," Eversley said. "I can't promise I would have been peaceful if this happened to me. He is one of the most admirable human beings I've met in my life."
The audience later gave Hunt and his wife a standing ovation.
• Titan Barksdale can be reached at 727-7327 or at tbarksdale@wsjournal.com